Whether it’s State of Decay, Fallout, or DayZ, in post-apocalyptic survival games the biggest threat isn’t zombies or monsters or mutants – it’s other people. Until now, the existence of fellow survivors has only been hinted at in Project Zomboid, but given the success of mods like Week One, and the erstwhile prologue starring Bob and Kate Smith, it seems inevitable that NPCs will eventually return. Now, a big update to Project Zomboid build 42 perhaps lays the groundwork for that future, while also offering you a helping hand when it comes to dealing with Knox Country’s undead.
It’s almost certainly happened to you by now. You’re picking through stores in Muldraugh, Riverside, or anywhere else in Project Zomboid, and suddenly you hear a distant gunshot, a scream, or an explosion. You can never find the source – like the radio broadcasts and annotated maps, these elements of the metagame only imply the presence of other people – but it’s clear that you’re not completely alone.
Back in the earliest days of The Indie Stone’s survival game, the tutorial section cast you as the tragic couple Bob and Kate, and culminated with a showdown with a house-invading bandit. In fact, NPCs were a core part of Zomboid up until April 2013, when they were removed owing to the fact they were too buggy. Provisionally, non-player survivors are rumored to return in Zomboid build 43 – but the new update for build 42 could be laying the foundations.
The new version of Zomboid, unstable 42.7.0, includes additional crafting recipes for making gold and silver coins – if you find sheets of either metal, you can process them into currency. As it stands, there is no trade in Zomboid of any kind. There’s no money, no swapping, and no merchants – there isn’t anybody. So, why would you need coins? Perhaps when the NPCs come back, you’ll be able to buy and sell things…
One of the best Project Zomboid mods, Week One already demonstrates how the game will look with other survivors. It’s chaotic and cruel, but such is PZ. On that note, have you ever been bitten by a zombie that you thought was dead? Thanks to the new update, zombies that have been knocked down or stunned will now move their chests more noticeably, so you have a better chance of spotting that they’re still active.
If you’re stockpiling gasoline be sure to put it in barrels that have lids, since it can now evaporate if it’s left in open containers. If you’re a veteran Zomboid player, you might be relieved to know that the opening, mood-setting message – “These are the end times. There was no hope of survival. This is how you died” – will now only appear once per save. Also included in the big update, fences are now more resilient, and won’t collapse as quickly when they’re being climbed and pressed against by multiple zombies.
Let’s hope NPCs are coming back soon. In the meantime, you can brush up on your undead survival skills with the best zombie games, or maybe try the best sandbox games instead.
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